BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Ohio State Buckeyes

Date: Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET on ESPN

Location: Glendale, Arizona | University of Phoenix Stadium

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Best moment: Sept. 12 at Virginia. Normally, a 34-27 victory over a 4-8 team that ended up firing its coach is nothing to get too excited about. But the way in which this one ended — with redshirt freshman DeShone Kizer entering for the injured Malik Zaire and hitting Will Fuller for a 39-yard winning touchdown pass with 12 seconds left — showed Irish fans that hey, maybe this season can still turn out to be pretty good. That it did, with Kizer establishing himself as one of the surprises of the college football season.

Lowest moment: Oct. 3 at Clemson. The Stanford loss is more recent and probably stings the most for fans right now, but the Clemson game is the one that might have been more important. The Irish looked totally unprepared in the early going in Death Valley, falling behind 14-0 early and not showing much of a pulse until the fourth quarter. Even then, a questionable two-point conversion decision early in the fourth quarter ended up adding to the what-could-have-beens as the Irish’s comeback bid fell short in a 24-22 loss, taking Notre Dame’s destiny out of its hands as Clemson then ran the regular-season table to a No. 1 ranking.

Key player: LB Jaylon Smith. The junior had 113 total tackles, a ridiculous mark when considering that the next-closest Irish player, Joe Schmidt, had 65. Smith had nine tackles for loss, including one sack, to go with six quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, five pass breakups and five passes defended. On a defense that often played less than the sum of its parts, Smith lived up to his billing.

Motivation level: High. Notre Dame was, in Brian Kelly’s words, two plays away from being undefeated and the No. 1 team in the country. And yet, because of those two losses, the Irish were left without a true signature victory. Throw in the fact Notre Dame has had only six 11-win seasons in its history, and this team has the chance to accomplish something special on a national stage — especially in light of the adversity it faced all season long from an injury standpoint. -- Matt Fortuna

Ohio State Buckeyes

Best moment: The Game remains the first priority for Urban Meyer every season, and the Ohio State coach kept his record against rival Michigan perfect with his team’s most dominant performance of the season. The Buckeyes almost looked like they’d been saving up everything they had for the Wolverines, unleashing running back Ezekiel Elliott for another 200-yard outing, dialing up the defensive pressure with Joey Bosa leading the pass rush and cruising to one of the most lopsided results in the history of the storied series. Few teams in the nation delivered an outing as impressive as Ohio State’s win in the Big House, a reminder of just how much talent Meyer has stockpiled since arriving four years ago.

Lowest moment: Just one week before ending the regular season on a high note, the Buckeyes hit a rare low one in a sloppy loss in the rain to Michigan State. How uncommon was the loss? Meyer hadn’t dropped a single regular-season Big Ten game during his nearly four full seasons in Columbus until the Spartans ruined his winning streak. Ohio State only gave Elliott 12 carries in an overly conservative game plan, and the Heisman Trophy candidate wrapped up the disappointing evening by publicly questioning the play calling.

Key player: The roster boasts legitimate candidates as the top offensive and defensive players in the nation, but it’s quarterback J.T. Barrett who often is most important in operating the Ohio State machine. The Buckeyes didn't seem to have as much confidence in him as a passer this season, and their inability to stretch the field was critical in the loss to the Spartans. But his dual-threat ability helps put more strain on a defense to defend the rushing attack than Cardale Jones was able to provide, and Barrett left little doubt against Michigan that he was better suited to lead the offense moving forward.

Motivation level: High. The Buckeyes have been at their best when they have been doubted, written off or labeled as underdogs. Given the way the rankings debate played out down the stretch, there’s no question they’ll feel as if there’s something to prove in the postseason. Meyer is more than capable of prodding the best effort out of the Buckeyes on a big stage. -- Austin Ward